Fence-machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. F. GILLET. PEE UE MACHINE.

1%. 385,304. Patented June 26, 1888" 0. F. GILLET. FEHGE IMA E-mm.

, Pm ed Jun 26, was.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 26 UNITED S ATES AT NT UFF'I E,

" CHARLES r. 'GILLET, or SPRINGFIELD, innrnois;

' FENCE-Macrame,

- SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Pa w 355.304. dated {9135 gvioeeg sAppliegtion m Nhvembertil),i881.v si-nn has.h'stftiifiludliloui.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that-,1, CHARLnsF. GILnnr, of Springfield, in the county ofSangamon, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new" anduseful Improvements in Fence-Machihes;-

and I do herebytdeelare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof refereneebeing had to the accompanyi ng-draw Iings,.in which.

,Fign re 1 shows a view of my machine inside 'elevation; Fig. 2, a planview of the same;

Fig, 3, an enlarged vertical sectional viewon linem cc'ofFig. 2; Fig. 4,an enlarged trans verse sectional view on line 3/ got Fig. 2; Fig. 5,adetail perspective ofa portion of the clampshnttle used in 'my machine;Fig. 6, a detail perspective view of one of the jawsupporting platesofthe clamp'shuttle; Fig. 7, a detail pen.

speetive view of a portion of the tension-pulley.

shaft, show ingone way of ad j ustahly. fi'Xi ngithe" pulleys in theshaft; andFig. 8, a similar view showing a modification of theadjustable attachment of the pdllcys. Letters of like-name and kindparts in each of the figures.

. The object'of my invention is to providea-n refer to like.

improved fence-making machine; and to this end myinvention consists inthe machine and in the construction, arrangement, and'eombi-- nation ofthe specified.

In the drawings, A Adesignate the frame for supporting the operativeparts of my maparts thereof, as hereinafter chine or apparatus. Suchframe can be of any desired form, construction, and material, though. Iprefer to make it of ,wood and in a formsubstantially as shown in thedrawings" On the upper side of this frame are the two journal-benrings BI in whichare jonrnaled' theends olth'e shaft of the twister-drivingtrailer or. drum. 0. A. hand or crank wheel, 0, is shown attached tosuch shaft for rotating any'desired number.

the roller; but any other desired handor power device. or mechanismcanhe used for this pur-- pose instead of the crank-wheel without de--parture from my invention. Journaled below this roller or. drnm O arethe twisters D D, of

similarly-formed devices located at equal dis- ,tances fromeachotherybntwith the drivingconneetions used between the roller 0 andthe after.

, tion are the reduced portions D D, forming In the drawings I show theseries of twisters as consisting of five or diminished in number andreadily changed asitotheir relative positions. a A Each twister has theplane cylindrical part twisters, obviously, the-lattercan be increasedD; with the flanges D Dat its opposite ends. I

This construction makes 'of .the main portion .of the body of thetwistera flanged pulley or spool, fora purpose to be deseribed'hercin- At theopposite ends of this main porjournals-for the twistersand supportedinsuit- 1" able journal-bearings, B B, on'cross-beams of 'frameAiA. Fromoneof these reducedportions or journals of thetwiste'r there extends aneck, D", having on its outer end'ai'ork, D

' lubes or pipes d d,-for the passage of the two wires to be twisted,runtthroughout" the body and journal portions of the twister, and

shown so as toguide the, wires to then-e spective wire receivingopenings dd in' the arms of twister-fork I). The use of these ,tnbes orpipes to form the wire-passages, in-

stead of merely coring out thewbody of-the' mncheasier. Y

The twister-s are connected with the driving roller or drum,so as to bedriven therefrom,- by bands E E,'of cord, rope, chain, or othermaterial, passing'around the roller and the pulley or spool portion ofthe respective twisters,-as.sh0wn best in Figs. 2and 3. 7 With thisconstruction, obviously, the positions of the twisters can be changed asdesired, their respective bands being slid along thefroller G as thechange, in position of the twis'ters is blade.

Pivoted or jonrnaled in the lower portion oi thegframe below andbeyond-the ends of the twister-forkarms is the transverse rock shaft F,provided with the upright arms Ff F. Carried by these-arms is a frameconsisting, essentially, of the upper and lower parallel bars G G, andextending across the machine opposite the series of twister-s. Said barscan be supported entirely by. attachment to arms F E, or they can beconnected with such arms Ice in any desired way and have distancepieeesor upright bars between them to makea solid frame. I

. 7 7 at their ends from which the wires ssueeare' turnedonward inopposite fiiTEUlifGfiS; as

2 asseos- Pivote'd, respectively, in the upper and lower bars of thisframe are the upper. and lower pivots or bearings of a series ofswinging wings or jaws, III-I. Each of these wings consists of theprojectingportion or body with the pivots. 711 h in line with eachother, but to one side of the body of the wing. The swing ing wings orjaws of the series are arranged in pairs, so that as the two composingany pair moved outward by the rocking of shaft F aud swinging the arms 1I the wings will then be held by lugs 0; i from being swnngback byanything pressing against them.

At the outer sides of the wings, away from the twisters, are the cams ion the plate 1- one for each wing-so situated and shapedthat as thewings are swung outward away from each other'their lower ends'will rideup the cams,.so asto cause the wings to be raised. bodily upward, asindicated inFig. 5. The cams are, as shown, curved lugs having inclinesbeginning close to the wing-bottoms when the'wingsstand swung inwardtoward each other-and rising upward and outward from such points; Thelugs are curved on arcs struck from the axis of motion of the wings, inorder that their inclines may properly engage the lower ends of thewings throughout the swing of the latter.

-At the-upper and outer ends of the inclines on the lugs are projectionsM, to act as stops to limit the outward swing of the wings. The upperpivots of the wings are made long, so as to allow the necessaryupaud-down movement of the wings as the latter swing and ride up anddown the cam-inclines on lugs i" With the wings swung outward, andconsequently raised bodily upward by the cams, as described, if they bereleased their weight will cause their lower ends to ride down over theinclines'of the caius, so as to swing the wings inward toward each otheragain.

Where the wings are made of metal, as I prefer, their own weight will besufficient to cause them .to ride down and be acted upon by the earns,as described. To supplement the weight of the wings in this matter,springs K K can be used, coiled aboutthe upper pivots of the wings andpressing down upon the latter. The pair of wires from each twisterpasses out between the 'wings of the respective pairopposite suchtwister.

On the rock-shaft F is a lever, M, for actuatingit; but any otherdesired .incuns for that purpose may be used.

The spools or reels N N, for supplying the two wires tocach twister, aremounted onsuitable shafts, N N, supported one above the other inhearings on the frame A A.

As it is most desirable in order'to insure n niform action of themachine and-the making of good even fence that the wires should all beunder equal tension as they pass to the twisters, Iemploy the tensiondevices, con-f structed as follows:' Journaled in bearings on the frame.A, A is the transverse shaft 0, carrying grooved or flanged pulleys PP,arranged in pairs, as shown, one pulley for each wire coining from reelsN N. Such pulleys are attached to the shaft, so as to rotate therewith,

but preferably by connections allowing adjust ment of them along theshaft to suit the de- Any desired form of adjustable connection betweensired spacing or location of the wires.

the tension-pulleys and the shaft 0 can be used. For instance, a keyway,0, can be cut along in the shaft'and in the pnlleysfand keys 0 0 can beused, as shown, to key the pulleys,

to the shaft at any desired points; or, as shown in Fig. 8, the pulleyscan be provided withhubs p and set-screws p, tapped through the hubs andengaging the shaft. Upon loosening the set -s'crews the pulleys can beadjusted along the shaft, and then lixed'as adjusted by screwing saidscrews in again;

Where the keys and kcyways in shaft and pulleys are used, the keys canbe loosened, the

pulleys adjusted, and the keys driven in again to iix the pulleys inplace as adjusted.

I contemplate providing friction devices, preferably adjustable, toprevent the too easy turning of the pulley-bearing shaft 0.

With the adjustable friction devices the resistance to the turning ofthe shaft, and consequently of all the pulleys alike, lated as desired.

The wires L L from the reels N N pass around their respective pulleys]?P, so that the latter must revolve'as the wires are drawn out in theoperation of the mach ne.

As the pulleys are fixed on the shaft Q so as to beincapable of rotationwith reference thereto, any frictional or other resistance applied tothe shaft against -its rotation will, obviously, through the shalt beapplied to control the r0 ration of all the pulleys alike. ,Theresistance to rotation of all the pulleys being the same, the wirespassing around the pulleys to the twist-er will be put underexactlythesame tension. \V'ith this construction and arrangement of tensiondevices not only will the two wires of cachpair be put under-equaltension, so that they will be twisted with equal tightness behindaslatand the slat will be exactly in line with the slats premding it inthe completed fence, but the several pairs of wires will be subjected toa like tension, so that no one pair can be drawn out more rapidlyor'easily than another, and the slats must consequently, as pushed outand twisted between the wires, be always parallel with each other.

If the pair of wires at one end of the series of twisters should beunder less tension than can be regu- ICO IIO

the others, so as to be more readily and easily #5 pleted fence thespaces between the slats at their ends engaged by the wires of said pairwould be liable to be greater than the spaces between their other ends.3 i

p The grooved pulleys for the two wires of each pair can be madeseparate and laced close together on shaft- O, or a single doublegroovedpulley can be used, madeinpne-piece, and having a groove for each wire;I

I do not limit myself to the. use of any form 1 of friction device orbrake to be applied to thev shaft O to'rcgulate the tension on thewires, as described.

If desired the shaft can be used without any such device or brake,itsends being merelyim 2o serted insuitable bearingson the frame.'

7 The turning of the shaft without a friction device will require pullenough on the wires to insure sorn'e tension, and'asthe pulleys rotatetogether all the wires-will be fed forward an eqnal'amount. I

Journaled in suitablebearings-at: the outer end of the fraine A A is thereel-shaft It, car

rying the reel, R, for reeling up the fenc e as ifcompleted by themachine.- Upon oneendof this shaft is a 'ratchet-WheeL'R engaged-by thetwo pawls S S on the oppositeends off-the rocking piece S, pivoted tothe frainejatfi.

A lever, S", is attached to the piece 8 for rocking the same, so as tomove thepawls; alterggnatel'yontw ard and" back again." Tlie pa-wls" aresimply pivoted to the arms of the rocking piece, so as to be kept bytheir own weightinposition to properly engage the teeth a r of the wheelR. j i 40 With the construction described, as the'lever S is swung upand down, the pawls will alternately act by their engagement with theteeth of theratchet-wheel toturn such wheel always in the properdirection to wind up the com- 5, pleted fence upon the reel.

The operation of my clamp-shuttle 'is briefly as, follows? As it isswung back-toward the twistcis by the rocking of rock-shaft F andswinging of arms F F, the fork-arms of the twisters engage theswingingwings orjaws H' H and force them open. Such opening of the jaws causesthem, as described hereinbe .fore, to,rise bodily upward as theirlower'ends ride up the inclines on cams i 11. When a slat has beeninserted between "the wires issuing from the twister-fork=arrus, theclamp=shuttle is swung outwardlby rocking the shaft F, and lhejaws orwingsHH, being disengaged from the fork-aim ends, are caused by theirown 6Q weight, or by the action of their weight and I springs, wherethelattcrare used, toride'down again over theinelined faces of the camsi i and be swung-inward again toward'each other. In this position thewings or'jaws'ou the clampshuttle, being held from further swinging bylugs 11' i, engage the edge of: the slat between the wires squarely,fand as the shuttle moves outward carry itout into position betweenthe wires and against the twist previously formed in the wires behindthe preceding slat or picket.- a

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-f-e j v 1. Inaclainp-shutile for fence-machines, swinging-jaws or-wings, incombinationwith cams up 'over which the jaws ride as they are swungoutward, substantially as and for the .purpose specified. a

, well asfa swinging movement, opposite earns the jaws, substantially asandfor the purpose shown. t t

v 3. In combination with a suitable support -ing-framc, two swingiugjawspivoted in the clined cams adapted, respectively to engage the two jawsas they areswuug away from each othcasubstantially asa-ndl for thepurpose set forth.'

j 4; In combination with a suitableframef, two 'jaws pivoted onvnprightpivots within, the

frame so as tobe capable of rising and falling as well as swinging, andthe two opposite cams having inclined surfaces beginning close to thelower ends of thejawswhen the latter are swung towardeach other, andextending thence the p'urpose described. t

5. In eombinationwith the swinging wings orjaws, the plate havingopcniugs'for the piv ots of the jaws and the two oppositely-inclined asand for the purpose specified.

6. In combination with the swinging jaws pivoted so as to be capable oflongitudinal as well as swinging movement, stops to limit the engage andmove the jaws longitndinallyas they are swungin the other direction,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

7. In combination with a suitable supporting-frame, two jaws pivotedtherein so as to be capable ofan up and-down aswell as a swingingmovement, the stops'to lipiit'theswing-of the jaws in one direction, andthe opposite earns to engage and cause the jaws to rise as they areswung in the opposite direction, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

rising and falling jaws, springs forcing-the jaws downward and oppositecams inclined upwardly and outwardly adapted to engage the lower ends ofthe jaws as they are swung outward away from each other, substantially las and for the purpose described.

9.111 a clainpshnttle for fence-machines, in

the series of j aws arranged in pairs and'pivoted in the frame so thatthe two jaws can swing upward and outward, snhstantiallyas andfori 2, Inaciaui'p shuttle forfennejnachinespiu I combinationwith the two jaws orwings piv-' oted so, as to be capable of an np-and-downas adaptedto'engage the lower sides or ends of frame so as to be capableof risingand falling v as well asswinging, and the two oppositely-inswing of thejaws in one direction and cams to In combination with the swinging andr30 combination witha suitable c'arryingframe,

toward and from each other and. also have up I cams for engaging thejawends, substantially the series of jaws arranged in pairs and pivotedinthe fraiueso that the two jaws of each pair can swing toward and fromeach other and also have an up-anilwlowu movement, cams on the framehaving, inclines up over which the jaws ofeaeli pair must ride as theyareswung outward from each other, and springs forcing the jaws downward,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

11. 'In aelainp-slinttle for fence-machines, in

, combination with a suitable carrying-frame, thejaws arranged in pairs.and pivoted in the frame so as to be capahleof swinging and also movingbodily up and down, the plates I I, one for (3210111)}il1' of jaws, the.stops i i, and the rains i t? on the plates, and the springs K K,substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 12, Ina=fenee-n1acliine, in combination with a seriesof twisters and thereelsof wire, the shaft and the grooved pulleys fixed thereon, aroundwhich the wires are passed on their wayfroni the reels to the twisters,substantially as and for thepnrpose described. 13.-- in a tension devicefor fence-machines, theshaftand the seriesot grooved pulleys fixed onand rotating with the Shafhsnhstantially as and for the purposespecified.

14. In a tension device for fence-machines, in combination with theshaft, the pulleys thereon, around which the wires are passed,andconneetions between the shaft-and pulleys allowing the latter to headjusted along the shaft, huteansing them to rotate with it,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

15. In a tension device for fence-machines,

in combination with the rotary shafthaving the I keyway out along it,the series of tension-pulleys, eaeh having a'keywaygand the series ofremovable keys engagingthe way in the shaft and the ways in therespective pulleys, substantiall y as and for the purpose described.

16. in a fenoe-m'aehinajn combination with the series of twister-s andthe reels for supplying wiresthereto, the rotary shaft and they groovedpulleys thereon, aroundwhieh the wires pass on their way to thetwlsters, fixed this 19th day of 'to the shaft so as to turn with thesame, but to be adjustable relatively along it, substan-

